Quint Kessenich: What coaches say vs. what they really mean

Mount St. Mary's Athletics

Quote: "We are going to spend more time focusing on us and less scouting of them." Real meaning: In the past, we overcomplicated our schemes and played tentative and slow. If we refine and simplify our game plan, we can play faster. Application: Mount St. Mary's plays at Drexel on Saturday. The Mount is 4-4 with wins over Bucknell, Delaware and Georgetown. Andrew Scalley (Archbishop Spalding) leads the nation with 24 assists. Both teams have dangerous offensive talent (Drexel has the No. 9 offense in the country, and Mount's is No. 18) and mistake-prone defenses. Expect a high-scoring affair.

Quote: "We are going to spend more time focusing on us and less scouting of them." Real meaning: In the past, we overcomplicated our schemes and played tentative and slow. If we refine and simplify our game plan, we can play faster. Application: Mount St. Mary's plays at Drexel on Saturday. The Mount is 4-4 with wins over Bucknell, Delaware and Georgetown. Andrew Scalley (Archbishop Spalding) leads the nation with 24 assists. Both teams have dangerous offensive talent (Drexel has the No. 9 offense in the country, and Mount's is No. 18) and mistake-prone defenses. Expect a high-scoring affair. (Mount St. Mary's Athletics)

Quote: "We are in wait-and-see mode." Real meaning: There's a lot going on behind the scenes that I can't discuss with you right now. Application: From Maryland's and Rutgers' shift to the Big Ten to Johns Hopkins considering a conference affiliation, mum's the word on conference realignment.

Quote: "We are in wait-and-see mode." Real meaning: There's a lot going on behind the scenes that I can't discuss with you right now. Application: From Maryland's and Rutgers' shift to the Big Ten to Johns Hopkins considering a conference affiliation, mum's the word on conference realignment. (Algerina Perna, Baltimore Sun)

Men's college lacrosse is filled with fiery coaches who speak their minds. These coaches have their own language, and what they say is often not to be interpreted literally. These guys are masters of using metaphors and persuasive strategies to get what they want out of their players. What they say and what they mean are up for interpretation. I took actual quotes from college coaches (without naming names, of course), deciphered the quote and made a contemporary application: — Quint Kessenich, For The Baltimore Sun